VOX Box: On the Head of a Pin 1
Characters * Lucifer Morningstar * Mazikeen * Gabriel * Elaine Belloc * Leon Meager * Wally Johnson * Donna Rich Location * Oblivion Bar * November 18th 2016, 1927 Universal Time VOX Archive * Elaine Belloc: opens, footsteps: 2 instances Wow... This is very unsettling. Where is everyone? * Mazikeen: Closed for a private meeting, darling. * Elaine Belloc: If it's closed then why did-? footsteps Did Uncle Luci forget to deactivate the sigil again? * Lucifer Morningstar: footsteps No, the sigil worked for you because I refined the master sigil. clinking, liquid sloshing, glass clinking, liquid pouring I specified those of angelic heritage were welcome. * Elaine Belloc: Uh-huh, body resting on stool and why would you do that? * Mazikeen: Like I said, Laney, 'private meeting'. * Elaine Belloc: If this meeting is for angels, what is she doing here? * Lucifer Morningstar: pause, gulp, chuckle Maze runs this bar, dear. The master sigil was written in her blood. I couldn't kick her out if I wanted to... slurp, gulp And I promise you I don't. Restricting the sigil also meant relaxing the anti-aggression warding. And that's unfortunate as these family reunions tend to get a little dicey... chuckle I may need Maze and her blades. * Elaine Belloc: I see... Well, who's invited to this little shindig then? * Lucifer Morningstar: I told Metatron to invite my five siblings, but- * Gabriel: flap of disembodied wings Hey. body resting on stool * Lucifer Morningstar: That's probably the only one that will show. slurp, gulp * Gabriel: Sorry if I'm late. I was doing some gardening. * Lucifer Morningstar: You're not late at all, little brother. * Elaine Belloc: Well, then, if this is about to begin, I'll just see my- * Lucifer Morningstar: No, feel free to stay. In fact, it's best you're here. * Elaine Belloc: Okay... * Donna Rich: opens, footsteps: 2 instances Oh, good, Gabriel did remember to show up. * Gabriel: scoff Why would I not? * Donna Rich: 2 instances, body resting on stool Well, it's just you seemed rather occupied with that- * Gabriel: chuckle Rose bush? * Donna Rich: pause Is that what we're calling it? * Mazikeen: Oh, this sounds promising... * Lucifer Morningstar: sigh As much as I'd love to hear about my little brother's love for humanity, i believe we have much to discuss... But before we get into that, might I ask what he is doing here? * Leon Meager: I told you he wouldn't be happy you brought me. * Donna Rich: Nonsense... sigh Leonardo- * Leon Meager: Leon. * Donna Rich: My brother needs to be more involved in matters pertaining to him. * Elaine Belloc: What matters would these be? * Donna Rich: The Presence is missing. * Gabriel: sigh Is that all this is? * Lucifer Morningstar: You knew about this? * Gabriel: No, but it's not the first time the man upstairs went for a walk. * Donna Rich: The Presence has been missing for quite a while now. * Gabriel: How long? * Donna Rich: I'm not sure exactly. Maybe two of Earth's months? Maybe longer. * Gabriel: chuckle So not long at all... * Leon Meager: Uh, what do you mean 'maybe longer'? How does that work? * Donna Rich: What do you mean? * Leon Meager: The Presence is a big deal, right? How do you misplace the Presence for two months? * Donna Rich: The Presence is not... keys of an automobile or a cellular calling device that can be pulled from the pockets of denim trousers and just placed and forgotten by careless humans. pause quiet: Good? * Mazikeen: Nailed it. * Leon Meager: Right, so how did you, the Voice, lose the Presence? * Donna Rich: I didn't lose anyone. The Presence is free to come and go as they please. * Leon Meager: Without leaving any sort of forwarding address or means to contact them? * Gabriel: It would be nice, but we angels generally don't make a habit of telling the Presence what to do. * Lucifer Morningstar: Speak for yourself. gulp Anyway, this time is different. * Gabriel: What makes it different? * Lucifer Morningstar: Raphael intends to call for a tribunal to choose a steward for the Throne of Heaven. * Gabriel: chuckle A tribunal? We haven't had one of those in... it's been a while. * Leon Meager: A tribunal? Is it bad that I don't know what this is? * Elaine Belloc: Yeah, same here... * Donna Rich: sigh It's written into the Mandate of Heaven. If the Presence cannot be found, then a tribunal of the Seven Archangels is called to determine who among them will sit upon the Throne of Heavens as the Demiurge, or the Steward of Silver City. * Leon Meager: Huh... * Lucifer Morningstar: We haven't had a tribunal in billions of years. Dear old dad grew tired of the in-fighting every time he stepped out for a pack of smokes. slurp, pause, gulp That's why we now have a Voice. * Gabriel: Right, so... why the need for a tribunal? * Leon Meager: Oh, no... * Elaine Belloc: What? * Leon Meager: I see where this is going. footsteps Raphael found out? * Gabriel: Raphael found out what? * Donna Rich: pause Yes, brother... * Elaine Belloc: What is this about? * Lucifer Morningstar: It seems Miss Perfect here is not so perfect after all. glass clinking Oh, don't get me wrong, Donna. I think more highly of you than ever after you confessed your little sin to me, but I think it's time we aired your dirty laundry to the others, don't you? * Gabriel: Donna, what is this about? * Donna Rich: Some time ago, Asmodel was torturing Leon. I tried to get the Presence to intervene, but... pause * Lucifer Morningstar: Asmodel had a right to discipline Leon. Leon's behavior was...unorthodox. * Donna Rich: After speaking with the Presence on the matter, figured that... Well, I thought about that one expression by Earth's political theorist Algernon Sidney: "God helps those who help themselves". * Gabriel: sigh You thought Father was testing you? * Donna Rich: I did... The Presence seemed so... comforting and understanding of my situation. I felt like I was expected to step up and handle the matter myself. So... I did. * Lucifer Morningstar: Mmm... not quite. You didn't handle the matter yourself. You handled the matter by using the Authority of the Presence. You abused your office and acted without the Presence's consent. pause Which, again, clap well done! * Gabriel: sigh Luci... sigh Okay, so Raphael found out you misused your office. I guess he then went to the Presence with this and... how do we get to the tribunal? * Donna Rich: When Asmodel and Raphael took me before the Presence, we were met with an empty Throne. * Gabriel: pause Okay, so I am guessing that Raphael then used his power as an Archangel to relieve you of your authority and assumed the role of Steward until a proper tribunal could be held... * Donna Rich: Precisely. * Gabriel: sigh Maze? * Mazikeen: On it. glass clinking, liquid pouring, glass clinking, liquid sloshing, glass clinking There. * Gabriel: Thanks. sliding on counter-top, sigh, slurp, gulp Okay, how long do we have? * Lucifer Morningstar: Raphael is dragging his feet. * Gabriel: Naturally. He likes the power... gulp I'd be fine letting him enjoy it a bit longer if it meant we'd have more time to track the Presence down, but- * Lucifer Morningstar: He's not the only one of our siblings who enjoys power... * Gabriel: Right, Michael and Uriel are going to want to force the tribunal sooner than later. * Mazikeen: Okay, so how long do we have to find God? * Lucifer Morningstar: A month. Maybe less. * Leon Meager: Okay, well, why not just force the tribunal to come sooner and name Gabriel or Donna as Voice? * Lucifer Morningstar: Well, that was sort of the idea behind this little pow-wow tonight. I had hoped we could come to an agreement. It was a long shot, to be sure, but it was worth a shot * Leon Meager: Okay, but why not do it for real? * Gabriel: Not that simple. chuckle The tribunal doesn't just go based off one angel, one vote. The tribunal is decided by influence. It's a complicated system, but there's no way I have enough juice to compete against, Michael, Uriel, or even Raphael for that matter. * Leon Meager: Why not? You're the Archangel of Humanity and a former Voice. That's got to count for something. * Gabriel: Against the Keeper of Divine Laws? The Keeper of Eden? The Demiurge? I'm noting. slurp * Elaine Belloc: Okay, what about Lucifer? * Gabriel: sprayed, cough, cough Excuse me? * Elaine Belloc: What? * Gabriel: Lucifer? scoff Lucifer? chuckle Uh, no... * Elaine Belloc: Why? * Gabriel: Because he's- pause Oh, expletive me. She's right... The Mandate of Heaven was written before your fall, Lucifer. It's never been rewritten. chuckle If a tribunal is held, your presence would be required. I don't think you could possibly sit the Throne due to your exile, but you could offer your support to someone... and with the power of Hell behind you, your choice would be tough to beat. * Lucifer Morningstar: pause Wait, if what you're saying is true then... chuckle Problem solved! A tribunal needs seven archangels. There's only six of us remaining. We cannot have a tribunal on account of- pause You did say he was no longer an angel, right? * Donna Rich: Raguel? Yes. He's lost his grace and body, nothing but an eldritch entity of personified vengeance. * Lucifer Morningstar: Excellent. Well, then there you go. We can't have a tribunal because Raguel isn't an archangel. Vis-a-vis, we don't have our little divine Hebdomad anymore. * Gabriel: Well, that's unfortunate... slurp, gulp * Lucifer Morningstar: What? Why? * Gabriel: Without the tribunal, Raphael is free to keep acting as steward until Father's return. * Lucifer Morningstar: Oh, yes, that is a problem, isn't it? sigh No, that won't do. We need to find dad... and soon. * Elaine Belloc: Is Raphael that bad? * Lucifer Morningstar: What are the things people hate most about religions? * Elaine Belloc: The zealotry? The hypocrisy? The judgement? Uh, chuckle the lack of fun? * Lucifer Morningstar: Precisely, now roll all that into one and you have our brother Raphael. * Leon Meager: On top of that, he's a dick. * Lucifer Morningstar: Yes, well, that's really the case with most angels, isn't it? * Mazikeen: It is. * Gabriel: ... Present company excluded, though, right? * Mazikeen: ... Sure. * Elaine Belloc: If they could be anywhere at all, where do we even begin to look for the Presence? * Gabriel: Father wouldn't be anywhere. Father would be somewhere on Earth, most likely. gulp That's where Father likes to go for holiday. * Elaine Belloc: Okay, great. What's the Presence's favorite vacation spots? The Vatican? Jerusalem? Cancun? * Gabriel: Actually, the Presence is fond of natural wonders. The Grand Canyon, Parícutin, Oolong Island. * Donna Rich: Okay, we should make a list and then we can each go explore those hotspots. * Lucifer Morningstar: Well, for our plan's sake, I hope that I'm not the one who finds dear old dad. That'd be... awkward. * Mazikeen: Yeah, I should probably sit this one out as well. * Donna Rich: sigh Come on. We're talking about searching the entire world for one being. A being, that I remind you, can take any form they desire. We need all the help we can get. Oh, God, do we need help! * Wally Johnson: baseball bat resting on counter, body resting on stool Okay, I'll help. * Donna Rich: pause Can I help you? * Wally Johnson: Maybe later... For now, allow me to help you out first. You did ask for my help first. It's only fair. * Leon Meager: Who is this? * Elaine Belloc: finger I know this kid! chuckle How you been, Wallace? * Wally Johnson: Wally, please... * Leon Meager: Wally? * Donna Rich: Never heard of him. * Mazikeen: Seriously? I thought as the Voice of the Almighty you knew everyone? * Donna Rich: I don't have that power anymore. Remember? Raphael stripped me of it. * Leon Meager: Uh, is it safe to be talking freely among this kid? pause And why are you two suddenly so quiet? * Gabriel: Uh, what? * Lucifer Morningstar: We're not quiet. * Gabriel: Yeah, we're, uh- * Lucifer Morningstar: Just... contemplating... * Mazikeen: Oh, wow, it's been a while... I'd forgotten just how bad of a liar you are. * Lucifer Morningstar: sigh I didn't lie. * Mazikeen: Yeah? So you don't know who this kid is? * Lucifer Morningstar: I didn't say I didn't. * Mazikeen: So, you weren't quiet because you know something you didn't want to share with the rest of us? * Lucifer Morningstar: I also didn't say that. I said I was contemplating, and I was. What I was contemplating is... personal. * Gabriel: Yeah, same... * Leon Meager: Should we be concerned that this little kid just sauntered into- Wait, did anyone see him walk in? * Wally Johnson: chuckle Oh, Leon of Meager Faith... Relax. There is no need to be so suspicious. * Leon Meager: You know my name? * Wally Johnson: Of course, I do, Leon. chuckle Don't you recognize me? * Leon Meager: No... * Wally Johnson: I'm God. * unison: Mazikeen: What? Leon Meager: What? Donna Rich: What? '' '''Lucifer Morningstar:' Oh, boy... Gabriel: Geez... Elaine Belloc: I knew it! Trivia and Notes * Story continues in VOX Box: On the Head of a Pin 2. * Gabriel's remark about gardening is because his latest hook up is Alba Garcia - a botanical homunculus, as seen in VOX Box: Weird Worlds 1. * The title of the VOX comes from a saying "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" Links and References * VOX Box: On the Head of a Pin 1 Category:VOX Box Category:Lucifer Morningstar/Appearances Category:Mazikeen/Appearances Category:Gabriel Demiurgos/Appearances Category:Elaine Belloc/Appearances Category:Leon Meager/Appearances Category:Wally Johnson/Appearances Category:Donna Rich/Appearances Category:Archangels/Appearances Category:Oblivion Bar/Appearances